RichardI arrived home last night after a very nice introduction to Azerbaijan thanks to your buddies... more

Piotr
We are in Poland now. We would like to thanks again for the organization of our tour... more Stephen
I just wanted to let you know how much i thoroughly enjoyed the Georgia portion of the trip... more Алексей
Большое спасибо за теплый прием, отдельное спасибо... more.. Avi
I want to thank you and Concord team for the very good service and... more

Racha is a historic province in
Georgia, in the mountainous northwestern part of the country. Comprising
the present-day districts of Oni and Ambrolauri, it is included in the
region of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti. It is bordered by the
mountain-range of Greater Caucasus to the north and east, Imereti to the
south, Lechkhumi and Svaneti to the west. It is situated in the northern
valley of Rioni river and is surrounded by mountains. Formerly, Racha
included also a northwestern corner of the present day breakaway region
of South Ossetia.
An old fortress in Racha in the 19th century.Racha had been part of
Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times and its main town Oni
was said to have been founded by King Pharnajom of Iberia in the 2nd
century BC. Upon creation of the unified Georgian kingdom in the 11th
century, Racha became one of the duchies (saeristavo) within it. Rati of
the Baghvashi family was the first duke (eristavi) appointed by King
Bagrat III. Descendants of Rati and his son Kakhaber, eponymous father
of Racha’s ruling dynasty of Kakhaberisdze, governed the province until
1278. In 1278 King David VI Narin abolished the duchy during his war
against the Mongols. In the mid-14th century, the duchy was restored
under the rule of the Tcharelidze family.
The next dynasty of Chkhetidze governed Racha from 1465 to 1769. Vassals
of the King of Imereti, they revolted several times against the royal
power. The 1678-1679 civil war resulted in the most serious
consequences. In this war, Duke Shoshita II of Racha (1661-1684)
supported Prince Archil, a rival of the pro-Ottoman Imeretian king
Bagrat IV. On the defeat of Archil, Racha was overrun and plundered by
an Ottoman punitive force. Under Rostom (1749-1769), the duchy became
virtually independent from Imereti. However, towards the end of 1769,
King Solomon I of Imereti managed to arrest Rostom and to abolish the
duchy. In 1784, King David of Imereti revived the duchy and gave it to
his nephew Anton. Local opposition attempted to use an Ottoman force to
take control of Racha, but the victory of King David at Skhvava (January
26, 1786) temporarily secured his dominance in the area. In 1789, the
next Imeretian king Solomon II finally abolished the duchy and
subordinated the province directly to the royal adminis.